Spheres
Six Senses Termesphere
This 16″ Termesphere overlaps the six senses over the six vanishing points. Trees take the shape of faces who’s ears, eyes, mouths etc. overlap the vanishing points. It makes the point that the environments are only possible to understand if our senses are doing their job.
Common Grounds Sphere
My latest Termesphere is called COMMON GROUNDS. It is a 16 ” diameter sphere of our local coffee shop. Markie and I go for coffee there most mornings. I spend a lot of time watching people when we are there. Commons Grounds is a place where everyone, young and old, interact with one another. Different tables have different topics of conversations. The weather at one, religion and philosophy at another, business dealings at another, and wifi connecting some with the world. It has a feeling of community.
I thought it would make an interesting subject. The building the coffee shop is in is one of the oldest buildings in Spearfish SD. I started this sphere by taking pictures of people at the tables without them knowing I was doing it. I didn’t want people posing for me. I played with this technique years ago when I was going to Otis Art Institute in Los Angles. I would walk around MacArthur Park pointing and shooting without bringing my camera to my eye. It caught people being themselves. This worked very well at Common Grounds too. Then I brought the sphere into Common Grounds to do all the drawing and much of the painting. If I have a chance, I like to create Termespheres in the actual environments. I found a windowed corner where I could see the whole scene to do my drawing and painting on the sphere. I also enjoyed talking to people explaining the process. Most were amazed how long it took to create this piece from beginning to end. After it was finished, I hung it in Common Grounds. It is exciting to see the reactions of the natives and visitors to it. It will probably be there another month. If you are in Spearfish, stop by and let me know what you think.
A Round Town – Termesphere in 4 minutes.
I am most pleased with this video where we took six months of work an condensed it into four minutes. Sometimes life seems like it is that short. I am pleased with this art piece in that it allowed my six point perspective to really show up. The structure running through the whole piece also holds the images together. My style of painting is a cross between pointillism and impressionism but with a very tight outer line. I like this kind of color as it makes the mind of the viewer do the mixing rather than the artist.
Lakota Headmen
Lakota Headmen – Sitting Bull, Black Elk, American Horse, Red Cloud, Big Foot, Little Wound, Red Shirt, Gall, Short Bull, Spotted Tail and Crazy Horse’s Shield (as there are no pictures) call all be found in this teepee.
This piece was enlarged to eight foot tall for the Little Wound High School in Kyle South Dakota with the help of the High School Art Department students. The original is 17″ tall and about 15″ across.
This double hexagon pyramid was painted in 1999 and is owned by the artist Dick Termes. Crazy Horses’ design is found in the teepee close to the fire. This piece has also been produced as a black and white poster.
Patterns of Reflection
Patterns of Reflection is a 24″ diameter Termesphere. It is a study of reflections in a pond. You as the viewer are in the middle of the pond turning in a circle looking at the trees around you and their reflections into the water. Working with the sphere and imagining he was within a transparent sphere in the pond I studied how the reflections worked.
“The sphere teaches us things the flat surface doesn’t.” I learned that all the trees around me reflect straight to a point on the bottom of the ball. I also learned that all the motion in the water that one sees comes from concentric circles echoing out from the point on the bottom of the ball. It also is a beautiful scene.
Reflecting Back
Reflecting Back is a 17″ diameter sphere that was painted in 1989. Deadwood South Dakota is very close to where I live. Much of this painting was done on location in the Adams House. This house is now owned by the city of Deadwood. This is one of my best examples of the six point perspective system.
The ghost image of Mr. Adams is shown looking in the window and Mary Adams is standing in the dining room. It is as though you are standing in the living room and turning in a circle seeing everything around you as well as above and below you.